Some Patristic Views on the Relationship of Faith and Works in Justification

Transcription

1 Some Patristic Views on the Relationship of Faith and Works in Justification Somewhere Friedrich Nietzsche remarks that Christians do not look saved. Yet Christianity has always proclaimed salvation, a liberating message of God s forgiveness of sins. Why the sad faces, then? To put it simply, the good news of liberation has in the Christian centuries been combined with a subsequent demand for a sober life of virtue and good works. No longer a slave to sin, one became a slave of justice (Rm ). Happy to be told that he was the most free lord of all, subject to none, the Christian in the pew was uncertain of how he should react when told that he was also to be the most dutiful servant of all, subject to everyone (Martin Luther, Treatise on Christian Liberty). The patristic era saw the development of a theology which taught salvation by God s grace but which was at least in danger of viewing the Christian life as a new form of law, the lex Christiana. We shall look at Christian reactions to the dual reality of justification by God s mercy and the subsequent obligations of being a Christian required to lead a life befitting that calling. We may begin by noting that the ancient pagans perceived the forgiveness of sins as an outstanding characteristic of Christianity. Indeed, in their eyes, Christianity was notorious for it. For Celsus, the Christian God was apparently not interested in receiving good and virtuous people1. The pagan counter-legend of Constantine saw his conversion as evidence that Christians had no scruples at all about receiving even the most heinous criminal : Feeling guilty about these crimes as well as his scorned oaths, he (Constantine) approached the (pagan) priests asking for lustration. They replied that no method of purification had been handed down capable of cleansing such abominations. But a certain Spaniard... maintained confidently the doctrines of the Christians could wash away any crimes and held out this promise, namely, that the unrighteous who accepted it would immediately stand free and clear of all sin. Constantine most readily received this word and laid aside the ancestral rites...2. Evidence shows as well that despite this forgiveness of sins, very many Christians were not able to remain very long in the happy state of baptismal innocence. Christian writings abound in exhortations to the baptized to repent 1. O rigen, Contra Celsum 3,62 (SC 136, 144). 2. Zosimus, Historia Nova 2,29 (Bude ed. T. 1, ).

2 4 ROBERT B. ENO and of laments about the state of the Church. It has been suggested that the Christian apostates mentioned by Pliny were persons who had committed serious sins after baptism but had not been able or willing to enter the process of second repentance3. We shall see that first justification and forgiveness of sins through the grace of God coexist in the Fathers with a different and more demanding attitude toward those already justified and baptized. Another consideration to be kept in mind as we look at the patristic commentaries on Paul is the spectrum of polemical issues which influenced their views and expressions on justification. For one thing, the Fathers were concerned about antinomianism4. So, while they spoke of justification by faith, they were always quick to add : of course, this must be a real faith, one that proves itself in works. In short they always supplemented Paul with James. Fighting against the Gnostics, they insisted that works were not be looked down upon as unimportant, as something of concern only to Psychics (i.e. Catholics)5. All the Apologists; stung by pagan accusations of Christian libertinism, made a point of stressing Christian moral uprightness. They were also concerned to combat Marcion and his splitting of the two testaments. In writing against him, theologians such as Origen sometimes went too far in assimilating the New Testament to the Old. Finally, and most obviously, Augustine s fight against Pelagius influenced not only his own version of Paulinism but that of many other of the Western Fathers who came in the centuries immediately after him. Augustine s earlier battle against the Donatists had also influenced his own views on the importance of love and his stress on common human sinfulness. I. S o m e pa t r ist ic co m m e n t a r ie s o n P a u l A. Origen Origen, perhaps the most prolific and original author of the ancient Church, is also one of the more difficult to interpret. The controversies which followed him and his writings further complicate the study of his theology. For our purposes, there is his commentary on Romans, written c. 243, according to Nautin, with the Latin translation of Rufinus appearing c The traditional view has been that Rufinus translation abbreviated and adapted the original but was basically faithful. But in recent decades a section of the Greek 3. W. T elfer, The Forgiveness o f Sins, pp (London, 1959). 4. For some recent discussions on the reception and interpretation of the Pauline writings in the early Church, see : A. Lindemann, Paulus im ältesten Christentum (Tübingen, 1979) ; J, D ünn, Unity and Diversity in the New Testament (London, 1978) : K. A land, «Methodische Bemerkungen zum Corpus Paulinum bei den Kirchenvätern des Zweiten Jahrhunderts» in Kerygma und Logos (Festschrift Carl Andresen), pp (Göttingen, 1979) ; E. D assmann, Der Stachel im Fleisch (Münster, 1979). 5. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 1,6,2 (PG 7, 505).

3 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 5 original was found among the Tura manuscripts, showing that the traditional view was overly optimistic6. In comparison to the other Pauline commentators studied here, Origen seems less orderly and consistent. This may be attributed to his technique in preaching and commenting on Scripture. The theological issues discussed depend very much on the words in front of him at any given moment. Bringing out one theological point here, he may stress another, even a seemingly contradictory point, a few verses later. The polemical background of this commentary is also obviously not the same as that of the late fourth century. One of Origen s prime targets is Marcion. Origen is at pains to demonstrate the compatibility and continuity of the two testaments. Thus he frequently tends to play down or even to obliterate the distinction between the two testaments, stressing rather the identity of the reality underlying Law and Gospel. He who believes in the Law should also accept the Gospel and vice versa. The Law is not a root of evil. But the situation of the two testaments is not precisely the same either. There is to be progress from one to the other-from faith to faith. The old Law then, correctly understood, will be interpreted in a spiritual rather than a literal sense7 8. Even given these cautions, it still must be said that Origen while not denying salvation by faith, is less insistent on it than the other commentators. This may be because he feels a greater independence from the text than do the others. The justice of God comes to all, Jew and Gentile, through the faith of Christ, not from our own merits, but freely given. Faith itself is a grace from God. Yet he also states that the good pagan will not lose his reward for his good deeds. (An early version of : Facienti quod est in se...?). Occasionally some of Origen s more esoteric speculations intrude themselves in this particular area of theology as well. Thus in one place he asks aloud if there might not be two forms of justification- by faith in God s sight and by works before the other logikof. Origen also makes the point that salvation by faith cleanses from previous sins. God gives the ability to avoid sin in the future but Christians neglect the path of virtue. This forgiveness of sins by faith does not give a license to sin since the forgiveness in question is for past, not future, sins. Doers of the Law, not mere hearers, will be justified. (But, again, the Law must be understood in a spiritual way). Faith and works go together like the two testaments. You must have both for perfection. He frequently stresses the need for virtues other than faith. These virtues, as he puts it, will also be reckoned as justice. Faith 6. P. N autin, Origène : sa vie et son œuvre, pp (Paris, 1977) ; J. Scherer, ed. Le Commentaire d'origène sur Rom. UI,5-V,7 (Cairo, 1957). 7. Origen, Comm, in Rom. 1,15 (PG 14, 861) ; 3,6 {Ibid., 941) ; 1,13 (Ibid., 858) ; 1,10 ; 2,9 (Ibid., 856 ; 892), 8. Origen, Comm, in Rom. 3,7 (PG 14,945) ; 1,7 ; 4,5 (Ibid., 853 ; 975) ; 2,7 (Ibid, 888) Good Pagan ; 4,1 (Ibid., 961) ; Cf. Scherer p There may be a relationship between this idea and the distinction made by Ambrosiaster on several occasions : e.g. Comm, in Rom. 2,12 ; 3,20 ; 4,2 ; 5,1 ; 11,7, especially 3,20 (CSEL 81/1,115) : «Maior enim fides est quam lex. quia lex ad nos pertinet, fides ad Deum. Idcirco lex temporalem iustitiam habet, fides aeternam».

4 6 ROBERT B. ENO without works may be faith but not according to knowledge. Charity will cover a multitude of sins and the good living Christian confirms the Law9. Despite his insistence on good works, he sees them as the fruits of justification : And this faith when justified, like a root, taking in the rain, goes down into the soil of the soul, so that when cultivated by the law of God, there will rise up out of it shoots which will bear the fruits of works. Therefore, the root of justice is not from the works but the fruit of the works grows from the root of justice, that root of justice, indeed, by which God brings justice without works Origen is generally sparing of merit language but at one point, using the same imagery, he speaks of the fruit of good works as our own. The one who is justified must now lead a good life. Few people are saved without good works (presumably post-justification good works), the good thief being one of the rare exceptions. He who does not love his neighbor, does not love Christ. Faith is the foundation and beginning of salvation but hope represents progress and growth, charity the perfecting and summit of the whole11. B. Marius VictOrinus The first Latin commentator on the Pauline writings was Marius Victorinus who wrote after his conversion to Christianity in 362. He may have written on all the letters but the only surviving commentaries are those on Galatians, Ephesians and Philippians. His role in the conversion of Augustine is well known (Confessions VIII.2) and he is sometimes thought to have been an influence as well in the development of his views on grace and justification. It is quite clear that Marius Victorinus teaches salvation by grace through faith. We know that man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith and the faith of Jesus Christ... It is faith alone that gives justification and sanctification12. The Spirit is received from the hearing of the faith, not the 9. Origen, Comm, in Rom. 3,7 ; 3,8 (PG 14, ) ; 3,6 (Ibid., 938) ; 3,9 (Ibid., 953). On this last text, see Scherer, pp. 99, on textual difficulties. Cf. E. Aleith, Paulusverständnis in der allen Kirche, p. 102 (Berlin, 1938). Comm, in Rom. 2,8-9 (PG 14, ) ; 2,13 ; 3,7 (Ibid, 908 ; 944-5) ; 4,1 (Ibid., 963) ; 8,1 (Ibid., 1159) ; 4,1 ; 2,1 (Ibid., ; 872). Origen s thoughts on non-imputation are used by Pelagius, Comm, in Rom. 4,8 : 1) Sins remitted, 2) Sins covered, 3) Sins not imputed ; 3,11 (Ibid., 957). 10. Origen, Comm, in Rom. 4,1 (PG 14, 965). 11. Origen, Comm, in Rom. 6,5 (PG 14,1066) ; 9,15 (Ibid., 1221) ; 4,1 (Ibid., 963) ;4,7 (Ibid, 986) ; 3,9 (Ibid, ) ; 9,31 (Ibid., 1232) ; 4,6 ( Ibid, 981). 12. M arius Victorinus, Comm, in Gal. 2, Teubner ed. A. Locher. Latin v. 245 (Leipzig, 1972) p. 26 : «It would be an error, I believe, to interpret his doctrine of salvation by faith in a proto-lutheran sense. In reality, the opposition he finds in St. Paul between faith and works corresponds, for him, to the opposition between contemplation and activity, between intellectual activity and practical activity. For him, the essence of Christianity consists in the knowledge of the «Mysterium» of the Son of God, knowledge which is given to us by grace in the measure in which the Logos enlightens us...» ; P. H adot, Marius Victorinus pp (Paris, 1971) ; J. Baur is also sceptical about Victorinus s meaning. See Salus Christiana Bd. 1, pp (Gütersloh, 1968). See also W. Erdt, M. Victorinus Afe r: der erste lateinische Pauluskommentator (Bern, 1980) pp

5 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 7 works of the Law. We are the children of Abraham and life will be reputed to us unto justice. We are not saved by our own merits but by the grace of God13. But, as always, when one seeks to penetrate more deeply into these themes, a more precise specification is difficult to pin down. When he speaks of faith, does he emphasize the fides quae, the fact that it is faith in Christ, as opposed to Judaism and paganism? When speaking of salvific faith, he sometimes clearly specifies content : faith in Christ as the Son of God who suffered, died and rose for us. Believing in Christ is to gain immortality and merit eternal life14. When he emphasizes faith over works, do the scorned works really refer to the Jewish law, especially the ceremonial law? On several occasions, he specifies the works of the Law as Sabbath observance, circumcision, new moons. Christ has now emptied the law of meaning, the law thus carnally understood15. And finally, one must ask the very general question : does he (and do the other commentators) simply repeat the terms and phraseology of Paul without fully meaning or even understanding all that Paul understood and intended? Victorinus makes it clear that love is necessary ; it is the fulfillment of the Law. If a person has faith, it necessarily follows that he will have love and these two fulfill everything which the Law of Christ commands... Faith frees and love builds16. All virtue in Christians is love as it was God s love that freed us. Walk in love. A great command, universally applicable, for love ends and perfects everything. And in this is the whole law and the whole mystery of Christianity, love and charity17. Marius Victorinus makes it clear that we are freed from our sins by believing in Christ. Yet it is clear as well that good works are to follow this forgiveness of sins in life. Faith is the head of all the virtues, that we may be just. But there is a certain reciprocal effect as well. Justice will benefit us if faith is there but this faith will only be true faith ( full faith ) if we are just18. Good works are necessary each day, yet they also come from God and not from our merits. Thus all boasting on our part must be avoided. While we must do good works according to the rule and discipline of the commandments of Christ, we are to keep our minds on what is ahead, forgetting the past, including our good works, lest we think of our merits. We must live according to the rule of Christ but we must do so as if we were starting anew each day. We do them all by the grace of Christ (but we are to do them!) M arius Victorinus, Comm, in Gal. 3,2 (Locher p. 30) ; 3,7 (Ibid., p. 32) ; Cf. also 3,9 ; 5,5 (Ibid., pp. 33 ; 60) ; Comm, in Eph. 2,8 (Ibid., p. 152). 14. Comm, in Gal. 1,6-7, pp On the problem of fides quae in the Fathers, see : R. A ubert, Le Problème de l'acte de Foi, p. 15 (Louvain, 1958) ; W. Joest, «Rechtfertigung» RGG3, Bd. 5, cc (1961). Comm, in Eph. 4, (p. 184) ; Cf, Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolycum 2,27 (OECT p. 70) on conditional immortality. 15. Comm, in Gal. 1,3-7 (p. 4-5) ; Comm, in Eph. 2,14-15 (p. 156). 16. Comm, in Gal. 5,6 (p. 61). 17. Comm, in Phil. 4,1 (p. 111) ; Comm, in Eph. 2,4 (p. 151) ; 5,1 (p. 190) «love and charity». 18. Comm, in Eph. 4,32 (p. 190) ; 6,13-14 (pp ) «fides plena». 19. Comm, in Eph. 2,9 (p. 152) ; Comm, in Phil. 3,13-14 (pp ).

6 ROBERT B. ENO C. Ambrosiaster The next witness chronologically is Ambrosiaster, writing in the later fourth century probably during the time of Pope Damasus ( ). In his commentary on the Pauline letters, he too stresses salvation by faith. They have been justified freely, because by God s gift they have been sanctified by faith alone, neither accomplishing anything nor rendering quid pro quo20. Grace and forgiveness of sins are gifts from God and not a reward for works. Sins are forgiven freely in baptism with a minimum of distress. Only a confession (of faith) from the heart is required. He who believes in Christ is saved without works ; by faith alone he freely receives the forgiveness of sins21. With the coming of grace, the burdens of the Law no longer exist for believers. We are now new creatures by regeneration. There is no need for the Law when sinners are justified in God s sight by faith alone. The Law makes sinners know their guilt, though it is not the cause of guilt (index, non genetrix). In times of difficulty, we are made strong by faith in the promises by trusting in them. Not by human merits, but by the mercy of God, after baptism, we are justified and adopted as children of God. All this is dei beneficium per Christum22. This is a very encouraging message but there is more to be said. The question of works must also be looked into. He gives a good summary of the situation of the new Christian in his commentary on Titus. God by his mercy has saved us through Christ. By his grace, we, bom again, have received abundantly of his Holy Spirit, so that relying on good works, with him helping us in all things, we might be able thus to lay hold of the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven23. Ambrosiaster frequently interprets the phrase iustitia Dei in the sense of God s fidelity to his promises. It is called the justice of God which seems to be mercy, because it has its origin in the promise. When that which has been promised by God is produced, it is called iustitia Dei. It is justice because what was promised has been carried out24. He does not really envisage a Law/Gospel relationship as Luther would understand it. It seems that for him, the Law which does not bring salvation means those specific ceremonial or other aspects of the Mosaic Law abolished by the Christian dispensation, i.e. the lex factorum concerning sabbaths, 20. A mbrosiaster, Comm, in Rom. 3,24 (CSEL 81/1, 119) ; Cf. 3,27 (Ibid., 123). 21. Comm, in Rom. 11,6 (Ibid., 365) ; 11,29 (Ibid., ) ; Comm, in I Cor. 1,4 (CSEL 81/2,7. Cited in CA art. 6 as Ambrose). See also Comm, in Gal. 3,3 (CSEL 81/3,31). 22. Comm, in Gal. 5,4 (CSEL 81/3, 55) ; 6,16 (Ibid., 67) ; Comm, in Rom. 4,5 (CSEL 81/1, 131) ; 4,15 (Ibid., 139) ; 7,5 (Ibid., 219) «Index, non genetrix» ; Comm, in Gal. 4,3 (CSEL 81/3, 43) ; Comm, in II Cor. 4,1 (CSEL 81/2,220) ; Comm, in Rom. 1,1 (CSEL 81/1, 13) ; Comm, in I Cor. 1,30 (CSEL 81/2, 20) «Dei beneficium per Christum». 23. Comm, in Titum 3,7 (CSEL 81/3, 332). 24. Comm, in Rom. 3,21 (CSEL 81/1, 117) ; Similar idea in 1,17 ; 3,4 ; 3,26 (Ibid., 37 ; 99 ; 123).

7 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 9 new moons, circumcision. Circumcision is of absolutely no use. The old Law of salvation by works, however, at least points to faith. The work of the Law is faith Ambrosiaster is certainly not to be understood as hostile to law and works, however. There has always been a law of some sort given by God. First there was the law of nature and a natural justice. When the human race grew slack, the law of Moses tried to shock men into obedience through fear. Then men slipped into despair because they were not able to obey the Law and so God in his mercy preached the Gospel of Salvation. Preaching faith in Christ, the apostles brought the mercy of God to bear upon the weakness of the human race. The Gospel is just the old Law minus the Law of works (i.e. Jewish ceremonial and dietary regulations). It was simply not fitting that the Mosaic Law be maintained in the presence of the Lord. Christianity begins with the forgiveness of sins whereas the Law is the condition for sin. Love is more spiritual. These are the works of the Gospel, the Christian Law, which replace the ceremonial Law26. What does Ambrosiaster mean by faith? He mentions the necessity of love in connection with faith. For justification, faith alone in love is necessary. For faith must be fortified with brotherly love for the perfection of the believer27. This faith must be, first of all, faith in Christ, in the sense of an acceptance of the Christian religion. Even if Gentiles keep the natural law, they must in addition accept the one God. This is more important than abstention from other sins. He who believes in Christ keeps the Law. This faith must be true and orthodox faith (fides quae). It is precisely those who do not hold the full divinity of Christ, i.e. Judaizing Christians, who also hold out for the full observance of the Mosaic Law28. Having been justified by the grace of Christ, the new Christian must follow the lex fidei. Since we once were saved by God s mercy, we must be all the more vigilant for the rest of our lives-leading pure lives, calling down his love on us and not rendering his grace useless. Christ calls us to the knowledge of faith and right living. After faith one must make progress in good works toward the proposed reward. The reformed sinner is to live under the law of God and not backslide lest grace be lost. The short formula for the Christian s 25. Comm, in Rom. 3,20 (CSEL 81/1, 115) ; There is no general Law/Gospel distinction in Ambrosiaster according to Charles Carlson, Justification in earlier Medieval Theology, p. 19 (The Hague, 1975) ; Comm, in Rom. 9,31-2 (CSEL 81/1, 337-9) ; 3,30 (Ibid., 125) Circumcision of no use ; Comm, in Gal. 5,6 (CSEL 81/3, 55) Circumcision of no use ; Comm, in Rom. 2,15 (CSEL 81/1, 77) «Opus legis fides est». 26. Comm, in Rom. 11,33 (CSEL 81/1, 389) ; - Comm, in II Cor. 3,3 (CSEL 81/2, 213-4) ; Comm. ingal. 1,6 (CSEL 81/3, 8) (Gospel = old Law-lex factorum) ; 1,10-24 (Ibid., 11-17) ; 3,19 (Ibid., 38) ; Comm, in Titum 1,16 (Ibid., 328) «evangelii opera». 27. Comm, in Gal. 5,6 (Ibid., 55). 28. Comm, in Rom. 2,12 (CSEL 81/1, 73) ; 2,25 (Ibid., 89) «Hie ergo servat legem, qui credit in Christum.» ; 2,26 (Ibid., 91) «Justitia legis fides est Christiana...» ; Comm, in I Cor. 2,15 (CSEL 81/2, 31) ; Comm, in Gal. Intro. (CSEL 81/3, 3) (Judaizing Christians) ; Comm, in Col. 2,7 (Ibid., 181).

8 10 ROBERT B. ENO post-baptismal success is : a good life and Catholic faith (N.B. once againjides quae19). How can we continue to call God our Father if our lives do not conform to our words? Love is the foundation of all religion so that without it, nothing is of any use. In a way, love is prior to faith and hope. Good works are required that one s fiducial trust in God grow ; in fact our works show how much we believe. Initial justification then is just the beginning of the race ; we have to keep running. Even Paul had to exert himself to improve and gain the merits of justification and the reward because the justice of God despises the unworthy2930 (!). So despite our initial justification by God s mercy, our subsequent life, our works, will determine whether we are justified or damned ultimately31. As can be seen, Ambrosiaster has no difficulty with merit language for the justified person. Having been washed, we must merit receiving the promise. Even faith which is not forced is meritorious. He speaks of meriting mercy by faith, i.e. by believing in Christ. He even seems to speak of merit or reward gained by the good acts of a person who has not yet come to believe. The justice of God will not allow such acts to go unrewarded32. Resisting temptations daily, we further merit toward our future reward. All will be rewarded for their good works. Progress is made. The Pharisee seeks the rewards of justice now because he despairs of it in the next life. Leaders of the community who do well will be appropriately rewarded. The Apostles themselves will get a great reward. Once faith (understood as Christianity in general) is accepted and a moral life is achieved, reward will follow. If anyone wishes to be justified before God so that it profits him as merit in the day of judgment, let him follow the faith of God33. D. Pelagius Ironically, Pelagius, the British monk whose name has gone down in the history of doctrines as the enemy of the grace of God is the one who in his commentaries on the Pauline letters, superficially at least, has the least 29. Comm, in II Cor. 3,7 (CSEL 81/2, 215) «lex fidei» ; Comm, in Rom. 12,1 (CSEL 81/1, ) ; - Comm, in 11 Cor. 13,6 (CSEL 81/2, 311) ; - Comm, in Gal. 6,10 (CSEL 81/3, 65) (Progress) ; Comm, in Eph. 1,14 (Ibid., 75) ; Comm, in Rom. 3,8 (CSEL 81/1, 105) ; 6,4-6 (Ibid., ) «Bona vita et tides Catholica». 30. Comm, in Rom. 8,15 (CSEL 81/1, 273) Comm, in I Cor. 13,3,13 (CSEL 81/2, ) (priority of love) ; Comm, in II Cor. 3,12 (Ibid,, 217) ; Comm, in Phil. 3,12 (CSEL 81/3, 154) ; Comm, in Rom. 6,13 (CSEL 81/1, 201) «Dei iustitia indignos despicit». 31. Comm, in Rom. 2,6 (CSEL 81/1, 67) ; 13,2 (Ibid., 419). 32. Comm, in Rom. 3,5 (Ibid., 101) ; 4,4 (Ibid., ) ; - Comm, in II Cor. 3,16-17 (CSEL 81/2, 218-9) ; - Comm, in Col 3,11 (CSEL 81/3, 196). 33. Comm, in II Cor. 4,16 (CSEL 81/2, 227) ; 5,2 (Ibid, 229) ; - Comm, in 1 Cor. 9,17-27 (Ibid., ) ; 11,23-25 (Ibid., 127) ; - Comm, in Gal. 6,10 (CSEL 81/3, 65) ; - Comm, in I Thess. Praefatio (Ibid., 211) ; Comm, in Gal. 6,4 (Ibid., 63), Cf. Origen, note 8 ; Comm, in Rom. 12,8 (CSEL 81/1, ) (Leaders of community) ; - Comm, in Gal. 6,14 (CSEL 81/3, 67) (Apostles) ; 3,12 (Ibid., 34) (Citation).

9 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 11 objectionable interpretations. He is the one who puts the most emphasis not just on faith but on fides sola?*. Like the others, he begins by emphasizing that we are saved by the grace of God, not by our own merits. God justifies the convert by faith alone, not by his good works which in fact he does not have. This is true for the Jews as well as for the Gentiles. The faith in question must, of course, be specifically Christian faith. Without it, the other virtues are useless for justification. The Law is also useless without faith in Christ. The Law cannot justify for the simple reason that no one can keep it3435. Another element peculiar to Pelagius is his emphasis on baptism in justification. Without the works of the Law, through baptism, he has freely forgiven the sins of all, however undeserving36. In connection with this, it is important to note that Pelagius stresses that in the sacrament of baptism only a person s previous sins are forgiven. We are forgiven past, not future, sins. We should no longer be concerned with past sins but we should fear to go astray after we have been baptized. The faithful are baptized to wash away old sins and to help avoid future ones37. Herein lies the problem. Pelagius as well as the other commentators are perfectly orthodox in teaching that we are justified by Christ without any previous merits or works on our part. It is the situation of the Christian after baptism that demands works. The Christian must make progress. We must do good for charity s sake but not boast about it. In this process, he puts more than the usual emphasis on imitating Christ, thus reminding us of his idea of the sinner s imitation of the first Adam38. The works of the old Law will not save. No one can observe them all anyway. With Pelagius as with the other commentators, one has the wellfounded suspicion that for him, this non-salvation by works means principally, if not exclusively, exemption from observing those aspects of the Mosaic Law rejected by Christians such as circumcision and sabbath observance. The Jews thought they could justify themselves by the Law even though, adds Pelagius, they did not observe even the greatest commandments. Christians will not be saved by observing that Law which must be re-interpreted spiritually in any event. They are saved by faith in Christ Pelagius, Fides sola.-some examples = Comm, in II Cor. 5,19 (ed. A. Souter, Exposition s X III Epist. Pauli, TSt, IX.2, Cambridge 1926, p. 263) ; Comm, in Gal. 2,20 (p. 317); 3,5-6 (p. 318). 35. General Introd. to all epp. (p. 4) ; Comm, in Rom. 4,5 (no good works) (p. 36) ; Comm, in Rom. Intro, (p. 7) (Jews & Gentiles) ; 4,16 (p. 39) ; 5,1 (p. 41) ; 11,5 (p. 86) ; Cf. also : Comm, in I Cor. 1,18 (p. 133) ; Comm, in Eph. 1,7,11 ; 2,8 (pp , 353) ; Comm in Phil. 3,9 ; 4,1 (pp , 411) (Christian faith) ; Comm, in Eph. 3,11 ; 6,36 (pp. 359, 384) ; Comm, in II Tim. 3,15 (p. 520) ; Comm, in Gal. 3,11 (p. 319). 36. Comm, in Rom. 3,24 (p. 32). See A. Schindler, «Gnade und Freiheit» Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche 62 (1965), Cf. also : - Comm. in Rom. 5,17 (p. 47) ; 8,30 (p. 69) ; Comm. in Col. 1,14 (p. 454). 37. Comm, in Rom. 10,9 (p. 82) ; Comm. in I Cor. 6,11 (p. 156) ; Comm. in Eph. 5,28 (p. 378). 38. Comm. in Rom. 1,8 (p. 10) ; Comm. in I Cor. 16,14 (p. 228) ; Examples : Comm. in Rom. 3,21 (p. 32) ; 5,10 (p ) ; Comm. in II Cor. 5,18 (p. 261) ; Comm. in Eph. 5,28 (p. 378) ; Comm. in Phil. 1,11 (p. 390). 39. Comm. in Rom. 3,28 (p. 34) ; Comm. in Gal. 2,16 (p. 307) ; Comm. in Rom. 11,7 (p. 86) (Greatest Commandments) ; 3,31 (p, 35) (Re-interpretation).

10 12 ROBERT B. ENO But once justified by faith, good works are to be done. He calls them variously the works of justice or the works of faith. To this end, our first faith is reckoned as justice so that the past is absolved ; we are justified in the present and prepared for the future works of faith40. They are the works of grace to be done by the baptized-justified person. Baptism, he says, must make a difference in our lives, a difference that can be seen in our behavior41. Here the Jacobean emphasis becomes heavy. The Christian who does not lead a good life has lost his faith. A faith which is on the lips but produces no fruit in practice is a false faith. Anyone who thinks that faith without works suffices is a false teacher. The reborn Christian walks in good works42. Faith without works will not suffice to justify anyone already baptized. Faith is dead without the works of Faith. The faith that justified the new believer will suffice only if the person remains in that justification. To do that he must avoid occasions of sin. To lead such a life, asceticism, among other things, is necessary. Among the virtues, charity is very important. Peace and charity and faith make the Christian perfect ; for just as charity without faith is sterile, so the same is true of faith without charity or peace43. When it comes to merit language, once again Pelagius is preferable to Ambrosiaster. He speaks once of the merit of faith. More often than merit, he speaks of reward, though even this is not all that frequent. Everything we have done or suffered for the love of God will be rewarded, he says. We hope to receive a reward for our (moral) justice. But he reminds his readers that they have nothing of their own except the reward of their labors. The reward is given to the labors, not the person. Finally, faith is the recognition of the divine truth but not because of our merits44. Pelagius commentaries on Paul then are superior in many ways to Ambrosiaster s. He speaks little of merit except to deny that we can receive God s grace because of any merits of our own. We are freely justified, but once we are justified, like the others, he stresses the necessity of a faith that is active in love. 40. Comm, in Rom. 3,28 (p, 34, Ref. to lames 2, 26) «Opera iustitiae», «Opera gratiae» ; 4,6 (p. 37) «Opera fidei» ; Comm, in Gal. 3,10 (p. 319, Ref, to James 2, 10) «Opera fidei» ; Comm, in Rom. 4,6 (p. 37) (Citation). 41. Comm, in Rom. 3,28 (p. 34) «Opera iustitiae» ; 6,4 (p. 49) ; Comm, in Gal. 6,15 (p. 342). 42. Comm, in I Tim. 2,19 (p. 479) ; 1,5 (p. 476) ; Comm, in Eph. 5,5-6 (p ) ; 2,9 (p. 353). 43. Comm, in I Tim. 2,15 (p. 483) ; Comm, in Gal. 3,10 (p. 319, Ref. to James 2, 10) ; Comm, in I Tim. 1,9 (p. 476) (Avoid occasions of sin) ; Comm, in Gal. 5,24 (p Schindler, art. cil., p. 185) (Asceticism) ; Comm, in I Cor. 12,31 (p. 201) (Caritas) ; 14,1 (p. 205) ; Comm, in Eph. 6,23 (p. 386) (Citation). 44. Comm, in Phil. 1,29 (p. 395) ; Comm, in Rom. 8,28 (p. 68) ; Comm, in Gal. 5,5 (p. 332) ; Comm, in I Cor. 3,8 (p. 142) ; Comm, in II Tim. 4,8 (p. 522) ; Comm, in Titum 1,2 (p. 525).

11 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 13 E. John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (c ) preached on the letter to the Romans during his Antioch period (i.e. before 398). This work is cited several times by Augustine against Julian of Eclanum, thus raising the question about an early Latin translation. John, generally a moralist as a preacher, was also an enthusiastic admirer of Paul. He thus has a great deal to say about justification by faith as opposed to the works of the Law. The Justice of God means a quality of God but also that by which God makes sinners just, and this by faith, not works. This salvation is easy and open to all. A great abundance of grace is revealed as well as ease in obtaining it ; no works are necessary. The only human contribution is faith. The Jews, on the other hand, claiming justification through the Law, asserted that they did not need grace. On the contrary, the Law cannot free anyone. Abraham, a man rich in good works, was justified nevertheless by faith. But most people were not really able to keep the Law. This is natural enough and indeed it was intended to be that way so that, having been brought to the edge of despair, the average person would run to Christ for salvation by grace through faith. By the Law, Chrysostom seems to understand principally those parts of the Mosaic Law rejected by Christians- feasts, commandments, sacrifices. The justice of faith is much greater than all these. Jews, insisting on the Law, make grace useless. We cannot save ourselves but grace cannot save us either unless we are willing. Anyone, especially Judaizing Christians who follow the Law are saying in effect that Christ is insufficient. Justice without Christ is no justice45. Once we believe, we are immediately justified. Through the cross, justice is graciously bestowed on all, even though we were not previously just or doers of good works. The grace of God now given is greater than all sins committed since the beginning of the world ; Christ did not just make up for the harm wrought by Adam, he brought about a far greater good. Once weak, we are now made powerful by grace. Christ did the fighting but we enjoy the fruits of victory. For us the precise moment of this justification came in baptism. Christ is justice itself (Autodikaiosyne46). There is a delicate balance to be struck in this matter. One must avoid taking credit for justification because of good works done. We are saved by grace and there is no place for boasting on our part. Yet we must be careful lest this emphasis on grace lead us to be overconfident. Trust in grace must not keep us from striving and working after our justification. He (Paul) also mentions 45. John Chrysostom, Horn, in Rom. 7,2 (PG 60, 444). Other examples : Horn, in Rom. 11,4 {Ibid., ) ; 17,1 (Ibid., 565) ; 14,6 (Ibid., 532) Horn, in I Cor. 12,1 (PG 61, 97-8) ; 25,1 (Ibid., 207). - Horn, in II Cor. 11,4 (Ibid., ) ; - Horn, in Matt. 69,2 (PG 58, 650) (End of examples). Horn, in Rom. 2,6 (PG 60, 409) (Human contribution-faith) ; 5,5 (Ibid,, 428) ; 13,3 (Ibid., 512) (Law cannot free) ; 8,1 (Ibid., 454) (Abraham) ; 7,1 (Ibid., 441-2) ; 7,3 ; 8,3 (Ibid., 445 ; 458) (Faith mightier than the Law) ; 17,1 (Ibid., 565) ; 18,5 (Ibid., 579) ; - Horn, in Gal. 2,6 (PG 61, ) (Christ insufficient?) ; Horn, in Titum3,2 (PG 62, 679) ; Horn, in Rom. 17,1 (PG 60, 565) (No Christ, no real justice). 46. Horn, in Rom. 7,4 (PG 60, 447) (Immediately justified) ; 10,1 (Ibid., 475) (Cross) ; 10,2 (Ibid., 476-7) (Abundance) ; 27,2 (Ibid., 645) (Strong in grace) ; 13,5 (Ibid., 515) (Victory) ; 15,2 (Ibid., 541) (Baptism) ; Horn, in II Cor. 11,3 (PG 61, 478) Autodikaiosyne.

12 14 ROBERT B. ENO his own past so that you will not leave everything to God and just sit there sleeping and belching. Grace talk should humble our pride but it must not render us passive or lead to a false quietism47. After we have been justified, we must produce. Here faith without works is of no avail. Reward and punishment will ultimately depend on our works, not the works of the Law which is now a thing of the past. Although in one place he says of the grace received at baptism that it touches our very soul and plucks up the roots of sin, he does not seem so optimistic about the real state of the Christian people. In baptism we died and were buried with Christ, gaining justice and other blessings. We rise with Christ in baptism. This means that a real change has taken place in us and a corresponding change for the better should be visible in our daily lives. One cannot simply go on in one s former way of living. The passions are supposed to have been made subject to the will after baptism. One proof of the superiority of grace over the Law is to be seen in the realities of virginity and contempt of death among Christians now. But in fact on the everyday level of reality, after their baptism people seem to be changed for a sum total of about days48. Given the reality, Chrysostom felt the need as a pastor to exhort his people to lead better lives. Hell was real, he told them, yet Christians kept right on sinning. Against a common laziness and laisser faire attitude, he urged again and again the need for zeal, diligence, earnestness (spoude). Our calling and being cleansed-this was of grace ; but now that we have been called and clothed in clean linen, we must keep it clean. This depends on the enthusiastic care of those who have been called49. We need to show spoude worthy of the gift. He speaks of two separate events of dying to sin, one in baptism and the other putting to death is done by ourselves after baptism. He is clearly recommending asceticism here. The burial of our old sins was Christ s gift. But to remain dead to sin after baptism-this has to be the product of our own serious efforts (spoude), however much God gives us a lot of help here as well50. God and baptismal grace continue to help, but Chrysostom emphasizes, it is up to us to show a real change in our lives. There can be no sitting back and taking it easy. Even Paul strove to strengthen his resistance to temptation and sin. We are not to be less strict but more strict. The Law is no longer in effect so that our standards may be higher, not lower. What is demanded of us may seem difficult and irksome. But this is the reaction of our sloth. We need to be prodded into greater diligence. Make a start, he urges his hearers by helping the poor as you leave church. For the greatest virtue of all 47. Horn, in 1 Cor. 2,1 (PG 61, 17) ; - Encomium in S. Paulum 6,9 (SC 300, 278. Piédagnel) ; Horn, in Rom. 2,3 (PG 60, 404). 48. Horn, in Matt. 24,1 (PG 57, 321) ; - Horn, in Joann. 31,1 (PG 59, 176) ; - Horn, in Rom. 5,4 (PG 60, 426) (Ceremonial law passé) ; Horn, in I Cor 40,2 (PG 61, 349) (Plucked up by roots) ; Horn, in Rom. 11,1 (PG 60, 484) (Buried with Christ) ; 10,4 (Ibid., 480) (Risen with Christ) ; Horn, in II Cor. 12,1 (PG 61,482) (No going back) ; 22,3 (Ibid., 551) ; Horn, in Rom. 11,5 (PG 60, 490) (Passions under subjection) ; 13,7 (Ibid., 517) (Virginity) ; 10,4 (Ibid., 480) (10-20 day change). 49. Horn, in I Cor 9,1 (PG 61, 76) ; - Horn, in II Cor. 12,1 (Ibid., 482) Spoude ; - Horn, in Matt. 69,2 (PG 58, 650). 50. Horn, in Rom. 1,5 (PG 60, 447) ; 11,1 (Ibid., 483) (Citation).

13 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 15 is charity, from which many blessings are produced and from which eternal rewards will be forthcoming for us51. Chrysostom does not hesitate to make explicit the motive of fear. Though we were initially justified by the pure grace of God, we thereafter must work out our salvation in fear and trembling. Only by living sober lives can we be saved from Hell. Our lot indeed is at present uncertainty to our last breath Security comes only with death. A little more on the bright side, he speaks in terms of rewards to come, though it should be said, not inordinately. He reminds his hearers that the reward is greatest when you work without hope of reward. In particular, like some of the Fathers, he makes a comparison that grates on the post-reformation ear : If you, the wealthy, help the poor, you are simply transferring your wealth to heaven (i.e. by piling up a reward). There is a way of taking it with you! Above all, when he exhorts Christians to live a sober life, not to be presumptuous, to work harder than ever, he reminds them of the rewards to come in the next life after a little labor. He who has absolved from sins will crown the just53. F. Augustine Augustine of Hippo, in general the most influential of the Western Fathers, holds a very special place of honor in this area of grace and justification. In fact, he does not seem to be that different from the other commentators we have studied except that he stresses the ongoing dependence of the Christian in the post-baptismal justification process on God s gracious initiative and help. But this emphasis does not lead him to downplay the activity of the Christian in life. Another specific emphasis of his is the role of love. From the beginning, Augustine taught the necessity of grace for salvation. As time went on, he strengthened and broadened his view of this dependence. We cannot live as we ought unless first justified by faith. We are powerless to help ourselves. We cannot observe the Law without grace. Time and again, he stresses that the Law cannot save ; rather it serves to point up sin. It tells us what we should do but does not give us the means to do it. For the Law gives its prescriptions to this end alone that when one has failed to fulfill these commandments he will not be filled with pride ; thus, by frightening him, the Law fulfills its purpose of pedagogue-leading him to love Christ54. By its 51. Horn, in Rom. 14,8 (Ibid., 534) (Beware of Rhathymia, opposite of spoude) ; 17,2 (Ibid., 566) ; Horn, in I Cor. 38,6 (PG 61, 329) ; Encomium in S. Paulum 6,7 (SC 300, 274) ; Horn, in Rom. 12,2 (PG 60, 496) (More strict) ; Horn, in Gal. 5,4 (PG 61, 669) (Higher standards) ; Horn, in II Cor. 10,4 (Ibid., 472) ; Horn, in Rom. 15,6 (PG 60, 548) (Help poor) ; Horn, in I Cor. 33,6 (PG 61, 286) (Love above all) ; 34,3 (Ibid., 289). On love in Chrysostom, see T. C oman «Justification and Charity in Chrysostom s Commentary on Romans» in Studia Evangelica 5, pp (TuU 103 Berlin). 52. Horn, in Rom. 25,6 (PG 60, 638) ; 14,6 (Ibid., 531) (Citation). 53. Horn, in Rom. 5,7 (Ibid., 431) ; 14,11 (Ibid., 539) ; Horn, in I Cor. 2,3 (PG 61,22) : 16,6 (Ibid., 138). 54. A ugustine Ad Simplicianum 1,2,21 (BA 10, 502) ; 1,1,2 (Ibid., 412) ; 1,1,12 (Ibid., 428) ; De Spiritu et Littera 5,8 (ed. S. Kopp Schriften gegen die Pelagianer, Wurzburg, 1971, p. 312) ; Comm, in Gal. 25,9 (CSEL 84,90) ; Contra duas Epistolas Pelagianorum 1,8,13 (BA 23, 340) ; De Perfectione Justitiae Hominis 5,11 (BA 21, 142) (Citation).

14 16 ROBERT B. ENO prohibitions, the Law actually renders concupiscence more acute. The Law by itself is the letter that kills. Augustine s attitude toward the Law is not universally negative however. The Law does not just have a place in God s plan whereby it points to the need for a Savior. Without the Spirit and love the Law is a dead letter. But once grace is given, the person is endowed with the faith and justice so that he can fulfill the Law, spiritually understood. Grace is shown through the Law, so that the Law may be fulfilled by grace. Here Augustine would cite one of his favorite verses : Love is the fulfillment of the Law (Rm 13.10)55. The Law cannot save ; it drives us in turn to Christ who alone can save us. Our sins are forgiven by grace through faith. But Augustine, verbally at least, puts more emphasis on grace than on faith, i.e. he is interested in stressing as often as possible that the grace of God always comes before our works as meritorious. The Law cannot heal what is wrong with us ; only grace can do that. The Law is good insofar as it tells us what ought to be done or avoided but only the grace of Christ our liberator can enable us to do what ought to be done. Our sins are forgiven, to start with, and we are enabled to live justly through faith, to do good works. Now under grace, it is possible for us not only to want to do good but to be able to do it in fact. Again and again he reiterates that grace must come first and only then can good works follow. Salvation comes only from Christ. We are vessels of mercy who cannot justify ourselves. Any ability to do good that we have comes from God56. The terms justice and justification are widely used by Augustine. By ourselves, our justitia is worthless. The Psalmist says with good reason to the Lord : Hear me in your justice. God takes our sins on himself so that his justice might become our own. What is this justitia Dei? In several places, he defines it this way : The justice of God is not that by which God himself is just but that which God gives to man so that he might be just through God57. It is God s own justice then that makes us just. We are justified by faith not works, by the spirit, not the letter, by grace, not by any deeds of our 55. Grace- a help to fulfill the Law : See J. Baur, op. cit. pp ; De Perf. Just. 6,14 (BA 21,146) (Concupiscence increased by Law) ; De Spiritu 14,25 (p. 346 Kopp) ; 12,20 (p. 336) (Law = Letter that kills) ; Contra II Epp. Pel. 3,7,20 (BA 23, 524) ; De Perf. Just. 19,42 (BA 21, 211) (Need for Savior) ; De Spiritu 4,6 (Kopp p ) (Without Spirit & Love) ; 19,32 (p. 358) ; 9,15 (pp ) (Spiritual understanding) ; Ep. 157,9 (BA 21, 48) ; De Gratia Christi 9,10 (BA 22, 72) (Citation) ; - Ad Simp. 1,1,17 (BA 10, ) (Sample use of Rm 13, 10). 56. Ep. ad Romanos inchoata expositio 8,4 (CSEL 84, 155. Comm, in Rom.) ; De Spiritu 8,13 (Kopp p ) «Gratia adiuvans et sanans» ; Expositio 84 propositionum ex ep. ad Romanos 12 (CSEL 84, 7-8. Exp. Rom ) ; Exp. Rom. 15 (CSEL 84, 9) «Liberator» ; Comm, in Gal. 3,2 (Ibid., 58) ; Exp. Rom. 12 (Ibid., 8) (Want to do good but cannot). Later Augustine would hold more specifically that even the desire to do good must come from God. See De Correptione et Gratia 11, 32 «non solum posse... verum etiam velle» (BA 24, 340) ; Ad Simp. 1,1,12 (BA 10, 428) (Grace must come first) ; 1,2,2-3 (Ibid., ) ; De Natura et Gratia 2,2 (BA 21, 246-8) (Vessels of Mercy) ; De Natura et Gratia 5,5 (BA 21, 252) ; 40,47 (Ibid., 332) ; De Peccatorum mentis et Remissione 2,19,33 (ed. R. Habitzky, p. 218) ; Contra II Epp. Pel. 1,3,7 (BA 23, 326). 57. Sermo 169,11 (PL 38, 921) ; 170,6 (Ibid., 930) ; Enarratio in Ps. 21. Sermo 2,3 (CCL 38, 123) ; De Trinitate 13,10,13 (BA 16, 302) ; 14,15,21 (Ibid., 400) ; Tractatus in Johannem 26.1 (BA 72, 482) (Citation). Cf. also De Spiritu 9,15 (Kopp p. 324) ; - Sermo 131,9 (PL 38, 733).

15 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 17 own. The fact that our own salvation comes entirely from God leaves us no room for boasting58. Having been justified, what are we to do? We are now to fulfill the spiritual works of the Law. We are to become doers of the Law but only after justification. We are called to do good works and we can thus have what Augustine calls merits. But he constantly takes pains to recall that we can have no merits of our own. Without God s grace we can have only demerits of our own. Rather only after having been justified are we enabled to do good works and to have any merits. While he does use merit language at times, he is careful to stress that anything we have that is good comes from God. Recall the oft-cited formula : Thus God will crown, not so much your merits as his own gifts.59 Finally, as we shall see in greater detail shortly, Augustine views the functioning of the grace of God in the human subject especially in terms of love more than faith. The grace of faith works through love60. Now we must analyze more closely the life of the justified Christian. First of all, Augustine does not deny free will to the unjustified person. However such a person might wish and try, he cannot live a good life without grace. Free will without grace is capable of nothing but sin. Despite this state, the image of God in the human being has never been totally obliterated. Once restored by grace, the human will is not overridden by grace ; on the contrary, it is now truly free for the first time61. One of the outstanding characteristics of Augustinian theology of grace and justification is his emphasis on the role of love. In one place, he has a definition of caritas Dei that is parallel to that of Justitia Dei. The love of God that is poured forth in our hearts is not the love by which he loves us, but the love by which he makes us his lovers.62 This also reminds us of one of his most frequently cited New Testament verses : Rm The love of God has been poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us... For the fulness of the Law is love and since faith calls for the Holy Spirit, through whom the love of God is poured forth in the hearts of those who do justice, in no way can anyone glory in his good works prior to the grace 58. De Spiritu 11,18 (Kopp p. 322) ; 13,22 {Ibid., p. 340) ; - Exp. Rom. 52 (CSEL 84, 34) (No boasting) ; De Pecc. Mer. 2,17,27 (Habitzky p. 210). 59. Comm, in Gal. 15,15 (CSEL 84, 71) «spiritualia opera legis» De Spiritu 10,16 (Kopp p. 328) ; 26,45 (Ibid., p. 380) (Doers of the Law) ; 7,11 (p. 316) (Merits only after Justification) ; De Pecc. Mer. 1,21,29 (Habitzky pp ) Ep. 140,71 (CSEL44,218) ; De Gratia et libero arbitrio 5,10 (BA 24, 114) ; Contra II Epp. Pel. 1,24,42 (BA 23, 394) ; 2,6,11 (Ibid., A ll) ; - De Corr. et Gratia 7,13 (BA 24, 296) ; De Dono Perseverantiae 2,4 (Ibid., 608) ; Sermo 170,10 (PL 38, 932) (Our merits = God s Gifts. Similar formulae in : 169,3 (Ibid, ) ; 297,6 (Ibid., 1362) ; 298,5 (Ibid, 1367) ; - Enchiridion 107 (BA 9, 296, 98) ; - De Grat. et lib. arb. 6,15 (BA 24, 124). 60. Comm, in Gal 1 (Preface) (CSEL 84, 55). 61. Exp. Rom 37 (Ibid., 19) ; De Spiritu 3,5 (Kopp p. 306) : «Nam neque liberum arbitrium quicquam nisi ad peccandum valet, si lateat veritatis via ; et cum id quod agendum et quo nitendum est coeperit non latere, nisi etiam delectet et ametur, non agitur, non suscipitur, non bene vivitur». De Spiritu 28,48 (Kopp pp ) (Image of God) ; 30,52 (Ibid., p. 398). Ep. 157,8 (BA 21, 44). 62. De Spiritu 32,56 (Kopp p. 408).

16 18 ROBERT B. ENO of faith.63 We love only because we have been loved first. But love we must. He complains : There are many who believe, but do not love. Faith without hope and love is just the fides diabolica condemned in James Such a person may believe that Christ is, but he does not believe in Christ64. Love is the root out of which come all good fruits. Under grace, the Law is fulfilled in love. This love, as Rm 5.5 states, is the Holy Spirit in us. This in turn should mean good works. Where caritas fidelis is at work, there one will find a good life. Good deeds done out of fear rather than out of love might as well not have been done at all. Love does away with fear and faith will give us hope in Christ. A life of faithful love should even help us reduce the power of concupiscence, the desideria carnalia65. Good works are clearly to be part of the Christian life. He must warn people who say they believe but show little evidence of real faith in their lives. Real faith and good works go together. By this time someone may be ready to ask : Is not such Christianity in danger of becoming just another law of works? No, answers Augustine. Besides the fact that the many Mosaic ceremonial laws have been left behind, what used to be enjoined with threats under the old law of works is now granted to belief under the law of faith66. At baptism all our sins are forgiven and in some places he specifies past sins. But we must continue to struggle with our faults ; concupiscence remains. As indicated above, Augustine believed that the power of concupiscence could be reduced in the long run in this life. Carnal desires remain but they are not sins, if they are not heeded and obeyed. One can speak of sin in the members but it does not reign. There is no guilt if the sins forgiven are not revived (i.e. committed anew)67. All our past sins are forgiven in baptism. It is a true renovatio.yet experience shows that we keep on sinning ; otherwise we would not need to repeat daily : Forgive us our sins. The Christian s post-justification state is still very much a status viae. We have been justified ; but justice itself grows as we pro 63. On Rm 5,5, see A.M. La Bonnardière, «Le Verset paulinien Rom. V, 5 dans l œuvre de S, Augustin», Augustinus MagisterVol. 2, pp (Paris, 1954). According to the author, Augustine uses this verse at least 201 times ; Comm, in Gal. 44,4 (CSEL 84, 118) (Citation). 64. Contra Julianum opus imperfectum 1,131 (PL 45, 1131) ; Sermo 162A,4 = Sermo Denis 19, (Miscellanea Agostiniana Vol. 1, p. 101) Citation ; Sermo 158,6 (PL 38, 865) (Fides diabolica) ; Sermo 144,2 (Ibid., 788). 65. Sermo 162A,7 (MA 1, 104) ; DeSpiritu 14,26 (Kopp p. 350) ; Ad Simp. 1,1,15,17 (BA 10, 432, 436, 438) (Law fulfilled by love) ; - Tract, in Joh. 26,1 (BA 72, 484) ; - De Spiritu 21,36 (Kopp p. 364) (Presence of Spirit) ; 3,5 (Ibid., p ) (Good Works) ; De Fide et Operibus 14,21 (BA 8, 400) «fidelis charitas» ; De Spiritu 14,26 (Kopp p. 350) (Not out of fear) ; 29,51 (Ibid., p. 396) ; Ep. 157,9 (BA 21, 46) (Power of concupiscence reduced) ; Contra Julianum 6,16,50 (PL 44, 851). 66. De Fide et Op. 9,14 (BA 8, 382) ; 13,20 (Ibid., 398). Here Protestant commentators protest against the idea of justification as process. See Baur, op. cit. p. 24 ; Joest art. cit. c. 830 ; De Spiritu 13,21,22 (Kopp pp. 338, 340) (Lex Fidei = Rm 3, 27). 67. Exp. Rom (CSEL 84, 7-13) «praeterita peccata» ; Contra Julianum 2,8,23 (PL 44, 689) (Struggle ag. Concup.) ; De Nuptiis et Concupiscentia I, 28 (BA 23, 118) (Concup. can be reduced) ; Exp. Rom. 39 (CSEL 84, 21) (Carnal desires not sins) ; De Perf. Just. 11,28 (BA 21, 176) (Sin remains but does not reign) ; De Pecc. Mer. 2,28,45-6 (Habitzky pp ).

17 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 19 gress.68 Life is a daily fight against carnal desires. Let us run with faith, hope and desire ; let us run chastising our body, giving alms to the deserving, pardoning the evil with joy, wholeheartedly praying that the strength of those in the race holds up and that we ourselves remain docile to the precepts of perfection, lest we fall away in our pursuit of the fulness of love.69 His program, then, includes prayer, asceticism, almsgiving and faith, hope and love. This is our justice. We are daily helped by God s grace, but even granted that assistance, the works we do begin to be also our merits. We must definitely be active. As he puts it in Sermon : He who created you without you, does not justify you without you.70 Our progress should be a daily reality. He likes to cite or allude to II Cor 4.16 : our inner being is renewed from day to day, donee fiat perfecta iustitia tamquam sanitas plena71. In some sense, we are simul iusti et peccatores but it is a partim-partim sense for Augustine, not totus-totus. And will any of us dare to say : I am a just man? I think : to say I am just means I am not a sinner. Yet if anyone dare say this, John will come to him : If we say We are free of the guilt of sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (I Jn 1.8) What then? Do we have no justice at all? Or do we have it but not all of it? Let s look into it. For if we have some part of something, there is also a part we don t have ; let that which we have increase and that which we don t have yet be filled in. For men are baptized and all things are forgiven them, they are justified, freed from sin ; we cannot deny this. Yet there remains a struggle with the flesh, the world and the devil. Of those that struggle, some overcome and others are overcome...if we say we are not just at all, we slander the gifts of God... But if we have faith, we already are somewhat just. Similarly, our justice is in proportion to our love72. II. A GENERAL SURVEY It is not possible in the short compass of this paper to make anything like a complete survey of all the Fathers. The following is presented as a rapid overview of a number of relevant texts. The Apostolic Fathers have been seen as representing an almost total disappearance of the Pauline point of view. Their writings are all pieces written to confront some specific internal need of the Church. Thus they address themselves to those who are already Christians. 68. Comm, in Rom. 19,8 (CSEL 84, 174) (Baptism = Renovatio) ; Ep. 157,2 (BA 21, 38) «Dimitte nobis débita nostra» ; De Gestis Pelagii 12,28 {Ibid., 494) «Dimitte nobis débita nostra» ; Sermo 159,1 (PL 38, 867-8) (Status viae) ; 158,5 {Ibid., 864) (Citation). 69. De Perf. Just. 5,11 (BA 21, 142) ; 8,19 {Ibid., 158) (Citation) ; 9,20 {Ibid., 162). 70. De Perf. Just. 8,18 {Ibid., 154) «Haec est nunc nostra iustitia» ; De Grat, et lib. arb. 6,13 (BA 24, 120) «incipiunt esse etiam mérita nostra» ; Sermo 169,13 (PL 38, 923) (Citation) : «Qui ergo fecit te sine te, non te iustificat sine te. Ergo fecit nescientem, justificat volentem... Et ipsa virtus tua est ; communicatio passionum Christi, virtus tua est». 71. De Perf. Just. 3,7 (BA 21, 134) ; Cf. also 13,31 {Ibid., 184) ; - De Pecc. Mer. 2,7-9 (Habitzky pp ) ; 2,27,44 {Ibid., p. 238). 72. Sermo 158,4 (PL 38, 864) (Citation) ; De Natura et Gratia 70,84 (BA 21, 410).

18 20 ROBERT B. ENO It is not surprising then that so much space is devoted to exhorting Christians to lead better lives or attempting to regulate problems within the churches. But even here, due recognition is found of the primacy of God s grace. Clement of Rome says that we are not made just by ourselves or by our own works but by God s will through faith. As Abraham was saved by faith so the blood of Christ sanctifies us. What a great debt we owe Christ! Because it was his grace which saved us and not our works.73 Justin stresses faith in his Dialogue with TryphobvX it is clear that the burden of his message is that Jews must accept Christ and understand the Christological thrust of the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus it is difficult to decide whether when he speaks of faith in this context, he means any more than acceptance of Christianity, or that the old measures of salvation such as circumcision are now gone. There is a progression of requirements for salvation for Justin (as for the others) : 1) Repentance of sins ; 2) Recognition of Jesus as the Christ ; and 3) Observance of the commandments. After this comes the reward74. In Irenaeus as well it is difficult to specify what is meant by faith. He attacks the Gnostics for preaching salvation through their version of faith while they have only evil deeds to show as fruits of their beliefs. He repeats, as do most of the others, that Abraham was justified by faith but he means that Abraham had some explicit knowledge of Christ and the future salvation history, thus stressing the unity of the two covenants over against Marcion. He seems here to be speaking more of the content of faith, the fides quae. The same inspiration seems to be behind Clement of Alexandria s extolling of faith : that the Gospel is the fulfillment of the Law. Tertullian in his longest work affirms that the faith of the just man is a faith in God as the author of both covenants, both Creator and Father of Jesus. Tunc lex, nunc iustitia Dei per fidem Christi.75 Cyril of Jerusalem has a more dogmatic approach to faith-faith as assent to truth. When Gregory of Nazianzus compares his parents to Abraham and Sarah, he states that his father was justified by faith. In saying this he probably means simply that his father, having been raised in an heretical sect, the Hypsistarii, later became a Catholic Christian. Leo the Great in particular seems to have a very dogmatic sense of faith. He urges the need for a faith in the real humanity of Jesus for justification. Or he cites Heb 11.6 : Without faith it is impossible to please God in connection with an insistence on an integral doctrine and dogma76. Apart from this content-oriented view of faith, one can also find a view emphasizing the forgiveness of sins. Origen, against Celsus, comments on the 73. I Clement 32,3-4 (Loeb 1, 62) ; Barnabas 5,1 {Ibid., 354) ; 13,7 (Ibid., 388) ; II Clement 1,3 (Ibid., 128) (Combined Citation) ; Polycarp Ep. 1,2-3 (Ibid., 282) (Combined Citation). 74. J ustin, Dialogue with TryphoM,92 (PG 6, 569, 693) ; 92 (Ibid., 696) ; 95 (Ibid., 701) ; 139 (Ibid., 796). 75. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 1,23,3 (PG 7, 672) ; 4,5,5 (SC 100, ) ; 4,21,1 (Ibid., ) ; Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4,134,21 (GCS 15, ) ; T ertullian, Adversus Marcionem 5,3 (OECT pp ) ; 5,13 (Ibid, 590f) ; (Ibid, 594) (Citation). 76. Cyril of Jerusalem, Cat. 5,10-12 (PG 33, 517, ) ; G regory Nazianzus, Oral 8,4 (PG 35,793) ; Leo, Horn. 4,1 on Epiphany (SC 22bis, 238) ; Horn. 4,6 on Christmas (Ibid., 120) ; See P. M cshane, La Romanitas et le Pape Léon le Grand (Montréal, 1979) p. 210.

19 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 21 miraculous ability of Christianity to reform sinners. For without the Word... it is impossible for anyone to become sinless77. With a more touching degree of personal involvement and experience, yet still heavily tinged with the aspect of moral reform, Cyprian discusses his own conversion. For as I myself was held by the many errors of my previous life, of which I believed I could not rid myself, so I was disposed to give in to my clinging vices... in my despair. But afterwards when the stains of my past life had been washed away by the aid of the waters of regeneration, a light from above poured itself upon my chastened and pure heart ; afterwards, when I had drunk of the Spirit, from heaven a second birth restored me as a new man. What seemed impossible could be accomplished... An expression of gratitude... not ascribed to the virtues of man but proclaimed as of God s munificence... Our power is of God, I say, all of it is from God78. Basil who stresses works a great deal also confesses that we are justified by faith in Christ alone. The context a homily on humility points up the moralizing reference of the statement, however. Our glory is not in boasting about ourselves but in mortifying ourselves. Ambrose comes closer to a feeling for salvation by faith and the importance of grace. We see here no doubt one aspect of his influence on Augustine. For Ambrose the law led us to recognize sin but could not grant forgiveness. We are all guilty ; we cannot glory in any works of our own. We glory in Christ who has forgiven our sins. ( Guilt is more fruitful than innocence. ) We rise again through God s grace. Let no one glory in his own works since no one is justified by his deeds, but one who is just has received a gift, being justified by baptism. It is faith, therefore, which sets us free by the blood of Christ, for he is blessed whose sin is forgiven and to whom pardon is granted.79 While there is some emphasis on saving faith in some authors and very little in others, all urge the justified Christian on to greater efforts, to more zeal in leading a Christian life. What shall we do then?. Shall we be slothful in well-doing and cease from love?... Let us be zealous to accomplish every good deed with energy and readiness... Let us do the work of justice with all our strength.80 Follow the way of light and not darkness ; Be zealous in God s works. God will record the good works ; a believer without good works is not a believer81. As noted before, Justin states that the third condition for salvation after repentance and faith is observance of the commandments. Faith (orthodoxy?) is not enough ; works must be present as well. All these authors stress the need for works. They speak first of the free forgivness of sins by Christ. But the situation of the justified Christian is no longer the same as that of the 77. O rigen, Contra Celsum 3,69 (SC 136, 158). 78. Cyprian, Ad Donatum 3-5,14 (CCL 3A, 4-6, 12) ; 4 (Ibid,, 4-5) (Citation) ; It should be noted that despite his sense of God s mercy shown here, he is very strict when dealing with Lapsi. Here is another instance of the importance of the situations of non-baptized pagans and baptized Christians who commit serious sins. 79. Basil, Horn. 20,3 (PG 31, 529) (On humility) ; Ambrose, De Jacob 1,6,20 (CSEL 32/2, 18) (Innocence & Guilt) ; 1,6,21 (Ibid.,) ; - Ep. 73,11 (PL 16, 1254) (Citation). 80. I Clement 33,1,7 (Loeb 1, 62, 64). 81. Barnabas 18f (Loeb 1, 400 f.) (Two Ways) ; 4,1 lb-12 (Ibid., 352) (Reward) ; II Clement 11,1 (Ibid., 144) ; Ps. Clement, Ep. de Virginibus 1,3 (PG 1, 384).

20 22 ROBERT B. ENO preconversion pagan. We are saved by grace but not without good works, writes Clement of Alexandria. Origen resorts again to James to remind the reader in his Commentary on John that faith without works is dead. When Celsus complains that good people are not wanted among Christians, only sinners, Origen replies that sinners are wanted, yes, but reformation as well as repentance is required82. Cyprian whom we have seen praising God for his mercy in his own conversion is also very strong on the need for Christians to lead good lives and the correspondingly difficult path for the fallen Christian who seeks to return to communion in the Church. The latter must make satisfaction to God by prayer and works. In his treatise on the Lord s Prayer, Cyprian writes that when we pray Hallowed be thy name, we pray that we who have been sanctified in baptism may persevere in what we have begun... (For this)... we have need of daily sanctification,83 Cyprian is one among several early authors who put great stress on almsgiving. This in particular irritates modern readers because of its close association with the idea of purchasing salvation, harkening back to Reformation controversies about indulgences and crass ideas about salvation. Cyprian cites Old Testament references such as Prov 16.6 as authorities. But he makes it clear that he is talking about the problem of doing penance for post-baptismal sins, not about first justification. Surely not those sins which have been contracted before, for they are purged by the blood and sanctification of Christ... Because the remission of sins is once granted in baptism, constant and continuous labor acting in the manner of baptism again bestows the indulgence of God... The merciful one advises that mercy be shown, and because he seeks to save those whom he redeemed at a great price, he teaches that those who have been polluted after the grace of baptism can be cleansed again84. Without going into greater detail, all the Fathers stress that after baptism, good works are expected of the Christian. It is not either/or but both/and. True religion consists of these two elements : pious doctrines and virtuous actions. Neither does God accept doctrines apart from good works, nor are works, when divorced from godly doctrine, accepted by God.85 For some, love plays a more explicit role than for others. Gregory the Great in saying : It is not by faith that you will come to know God, but by love ; not by mere conviction but by action. is just reiterating the patristic emphasis on a balance between faith and works. None of these things is unknown to you if you 82. Justin, Dialogue95 (P G 6,701) ; 141 (Ibid., ) ; Clement of A lexandria, Stromata 5,1-7 (GCS 15, ) ; O rigen, Comm, in Johann. 19,23,6 (GCS 10, 325) ; Contra Celsum 3,62 (SC 136, 144). 83. Cyprian, Ep. 16,2 (ed. Bayard-Bude 1,46) ; De Oratione 12 (CCL 3A, 96). 84. Cyprian, De Opere et Eleemosynis 2 (CCL 3A, 55-56) ; See also 5 (Ibid., 57-58) ; Other texts : II Clement 16,4 (Loeb 1, 154) ; Ambrose, De Helia 20,76 (CSEL 32/2, 458) «Pecuniam habes ; redime peccatum tuum» ; Cyprian, Ep. 55,22 (Bayard 2, 145) (Post-baptismal sins only). 85. Good works are expected of Christians : sample texts : A phrahat, Demonstrations 1,4 (Pat. Syr. 1, 11, 14) ; Basil, Horn, in Ps. 28, 1 (PG 29, 281) ; G regory Nazianzus, Oratio 14,37 (PG 35, 908) ; 26,5 (Ibid., 1233) ; H ilary of P oitiers, Comm, in Ps. 91, 10 (CSEL 22, ) ; G regory of N yssa, Horn, in Ecclesiast. 8,12 (PG 44, 753) ; Ambrose, Ep. 2,16 (PL 16, 883) ; in Lucam 8,47 (SC 52, 119) ; Salvian, De Gubematione Dei 3,2,7 (SC 220, 190) ; Cyril of J erusalem, Cat. 4,2 (PG 33, 456) (Citation).

21 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 23 possess perfect faith in Jesus Christ and love, which are the beginning and the end of life ; for the beginning is faith and the end is love and when the two are joined together in unity it is God and all other noble things follow after them.86 The stress on good works may in itself be viewed more or less critically. But some of the potential pitfalls or aberrations quickly made an appearance in certain patristic authors. For Hermas, works of supererogation gain a greater reward. Tertullian who, to be sure, frequently stretched logic and exegesis to gain a point, got around to proving that failure to do the better thing was a sin by the notion of God s preferential will. Even though you do not sin, you do fail to merit. And is not one s very unwillingness to merit itself a sin?87 Despite these exaggerations or aberrations, the Fathers agreed on the gratuity of God s grace and mercy in forgiving human sins. The demand for works came to the Christian already justified. They were to show forth the gratitude of the undeserving wretch saved by God s love but were also the way one preserved the gift of salvation. Created a new person in Christ, the Christian who persevered would be rewarded. Therefore as a debtor to so great a benefit, do you not make repayment with your obedience?...he has poured out on you the spirit of adoption. Count these blessings and associate them not so much with the bondage of debt as with the maintenance of the gift you have received... See how he has forgiven you your earlier sins in order that the fact of your having sinned might not prove a hindrance to you. See how he exhorts you not to lose what you have received88. A p p e n d ix i - p a e n it e n t ia s e c u n d a It appears from our study that the Fathers took a view of the sins of the baptized Christian that is quite different from their view of the sins of the pagan. In the latter case, they repeat Paul and underline the gratuity of God s mercy. But, if one has received this mercy, and then fallen again -this is a different story. The Letter to the Hebrews (c. 6 ; 10.26) already presents a suitably hard line. The view is this : having been unaccountably forgiven and taken back once, one must be remarkably evil or at least ungrateful to throw it all over and plunge into the sinful deep again. Is this idea of the justified Christian s leading a sinless life based on some Interimsethik? The belief that since Christ would soon be returning, it was entirely possible, indeed required, that one keep onself unstained from the world for this brief period. The Church in such a scenario has been described 86. G regorythe G reat, Horn. 14,3 (PL 76, ) ; I Clement 50,5 (Loeb 1,94) ; Ignatius of Antioch, Smyrn. 6,1 {Ibid., 258) ; Eph. 14,1 (Citation) (Ibid., 188). 87. H ermas, Sim. 5,3,3 (Loeb 2,158) ;T ertullian, Exhort, cast. 2 (CCL 2, ) ; 3 (Ibid., 1019) (Citation). 88. A mbrose, De Jacob 1,6,23 (CSEL 32/2, 18) (Citation).

22 24 ROBERT B. ENO as having the morale of a nation at war, a last holy war89. Is the abhorrence of a second fall based at least partially on the thought of the price paid for our first justification? And those who listen as though it were a little matter are sinning and we are also sinning, if we do not know... how great suffering Jesus Christ endured for our sake. What return, then, shall we make to him?... And how great a debt of holiness do we owe him?90 Or Origen, confronting people complaining about the difficulty of second penance for Christians (as opposed to Old Testament Jews) said that whereas animals had been sacrificed for sins in the Old Testament, Christ was sacrificed for us and our ingratitude should be atoned for with correspondingly greater rigor91. With the passage of time, words addressed to the unbaptized in the New Testament were now directed to baptized sinners. There were many words about the wrath to come, as when Tertullian invoked the fear of Hell. Ambrosiaster could remark that the first repentance was not attended by much wailing but the second was a different story92. Origen mentioned that he thought there were at least a few Christians who had not sinned since their (first) conversion. Christians in need of a new repentance, then, must have been numerous, yet the expressions used by the patristic authors still betray a horror of post-baptismal sins. And truly the death of the Lord became healing and remission of sins to the former (people of the Old Testament) but Christ shall not die again on behalf of those who now commit sin... We ought ourselves to fear, lest perchance, after the knowledge of Christ, if we do things displeasing to God we obtain no further forgiveness of sins, but be shut out from his kingdom93. A Christian who sins seriously ought to be fearful as one no longer washed for the forgiveness of sins... Such a person has behaved unworthily of the calling and Gospel of Christ and of Christ s suffering and humiliation pro nobis94. Thus while Christians are urged to repent again (e.g. Hermas Man ) they are warned that justification will not be so easy the next time. The sins committed before faith are accordingly forgiven by the Lord, not that they may be undone, but as if they had not been done... Those who fall into sin after baptism are those who are subjected to discipline ; for the deeds done before are remitted and those done after are purged. It was entirely fitting in their eyes therefore that the greatest torments... (be) assigned to the believer Telfer, op. cit. p II Clement 1 (Loeb 1, 128). 91. Origen, Horn, in Leviticum 2,4 (GCS 29, ). 92. Ambrosiaster, Comm, in Rom. 11,29 (CSEL 81/1,385-87) ;T ertullian, De Paenitentia 9 (CCL 1, 336). 93. Origen, Contra Celsum 3,69 (SC 136, 158) ; Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses 4,27,2 (SC 100, 742) (Citation). 94. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 2,13 (SC 38, 81) (Citation) ; G regory Nazianzus, Oratio 16,12 (PG 35, 949). 95. H ermas, Mand. 12,6,2 (Loeb 2, 136) ; C lement of Alexandria, Stromata 4,24 (GCS 15, 316) (Citation) ; 6,14,109 (Ibid., 486) (Citation).

23 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 25 Not surprisingly, Origen reports that Christians observed that the Old Testament Jews seemed to be better off than Christians when it came to the question of the forgiveness of post-baptismal sins96. According to Tertullian s reasoning, then, canonical penance had to be very painful in order to render penance acceptable and in order to honor God... so that in passing sentence upon the sinner it may itself be a substitute for the wrath of God and by temporal punishment... prevent eternal torments.97 A p p e n d ix ii - p u r g a t o r y Little can be said about this subject here except summarily to indicate some of the roots of this idea in Christian antiquity. We have just seen one of them, the general abhorrence of post-baptismal sin and the idea of correspondingly harsh penitential procedure. This is the idea of temporal punishment as expressed in Tertullian s De Paenitentia and also in Hermas Sim : Do you think that the sins of those who repent are immediately forgiven? By no means ; he who repents must torture his own soul and be humble in all his deeds and be afflicted with many difficulties... Augustine also speaks of further punishments for sinners whose sins have been forgiven, including suffering up to death itself. Such is the constancy of divine justice, he comments. However, he may well simply be giving an explanation of the general problem of suffering. It is difficult to say what influences, if any, may have had a part in the development of the idea of temporal punishment. But many aspects of popular religiosity later had a part in mitigating the terror of punishment for sins98. Another aspect of the root of the idea of purgatory is to be found in patristic commentary on I Cor Herein are involved such questions as the fate of the individual soul immediately following death, the development of an idea of a particular judgment and immediate reward or punishment for the individual other than a martyr. Already Tertullian had spoken of the possibility of the soul s undergoing some compensatory discipline penes inferos without prejudicing the fact of the general resurrection100. By the time of the Christian empire and the widespread practical excommunication of many Christians, apparently such ideas had become more widespread. They were applied especially to the notion that no Catholic Christian, however sinful his 96. Origen - See note Tertullian - See note H ermas, Sim. 7,4 (Loeb 2, ) ; Augustine, Comm, in Rom. 9,10 (CSEL 84, 157). Popular religiosity : See B. K ötting, Peregrinatio Religiosa (Münster, 1950), p. 329 «The thought that one must work out his salvation in fear and trembling stands in the foreground of popular piety.» Kötting says this primarily of the Middle Ages. He notes that he did not find evidence for the pilgrimage as atonement in Christian antiquity but there were pilgrimages for ascetical reasons. 99. See J. G nilka, Ist I Kor 3,10-15 ein Schriftzeugnis fü r das Fegfeuer? (Düsseldorf, 1955) T ertullian, De Anima 58,8, ed. J. Waszink (Amsterdam, 1947) p. 79.

24 26 ROBERT B. ENO post-baptismal life, would be consigned to eternal flames. One might raise the question as to a possible relation with the idea of Jovinian attacked by Jerome : that they who with full assurance of faith have been born again in baptism cannot be overthrown by the devil.101 Is this idea simply further evidence of a burgeoning Christian laxity or is it a vestige of the idea of a definitive forgiveness of sins in baptism? In any event, Augustine was not attracted to the idea. He attacked those whom he called the misguided merciful ones. He spoke of the possibility of some post-mortem expiation of light sins through the sufferings of the faithful. Whenever he had earlier associated the idea of a purifying fire with the fate of the individual soul after death, he eventually set it between death and the general resurrection. The real impetus for the idea came later. Gregory the Great thought this post-mortem fire a certainty but for those with peccata levia only. Isidore of Seville advanced the theology of purgatory by speaking of the penitential debt owed by serious sinners whose sins had been forgiven but who had not been able to do sufficient penance before death102. C o n c l u s io n This survey of the Fathers points in particular to one significant issue : the distinction between first and subsequent justifications. Painting in broad strokes and making allowances for scattered exceptions, it seems that the Fathers taught that initially human beings were saved from their sins, were justified, purely by God s mercy, by his grace with no merits or works of their own going before. The old Law could not save of itself ; it merely underlined the fact of human weakness and sin. Now with the coming of Christ, the human race was to be saved by faith in Christ. After justification, Christians were to lead lives of virtue, doing good to others. Difficulty arises with the serious sins of those already baptized. Here in many cases, the patristic view of the post-baptismal Christian life seems to place the Christian back into a Law situation. He must obey commandments and do good works. If he does not do these things, punishment will follow sooner or later. A closer look at the patristic data shows that most of the Fathers looked upon the old baw as still in effect except for the specific ceremonial, dietary and other regulations rejected by Gentile Christians almost from the beginning. Gospel as faith meant simply accepting Christianity as opposed to Judaism of Paganism. In some texts, faith was even more clearly taken in a sense of what later theology, would call the fides quae. If the emphasis on gratuity of salvation and forgiveness of sins without our works is limited to first justification, if justification is identified with the moment of baptism and if there comes a time when infant baptism is universal, 101. Jerome, Adversus Jovinianum 1,3 (PL 23, 214) See e.g. Augustine, De Fide et Operibus, chs Here I have relied on : J. Ntedika, L Évolution de la Doctrine du Purgatoire chez S. Augustin (Paris, 1966), and L Évocation de l'au-delà dans la Prière pour les Morts (Louvain, 1971).

25 FAITH AND WORKS IN JUSTIFICATION 27 then it is not hard to understand that the word of God s free forgiveness in justification would not impinge very forcefully on the conscience of the average Christian. If this same Christian then is exhorted to live a life of virtue and good works in order to be saved and rewarded in the next life and if he in fact does not live a very good life but is frequently exhorted to repent and threatened with divine judgments if he does not repent and, even if he repent, he is still threatened with long and painful purgatorial torments to make up for the penances he cannot do, it is not surprising that a law atmosphere will be generated. People will seek to cut corners, find short cuts, cheap grace. Augustine, to be sure, among others, insists on the ongoing necessity of divine grace for all good actions subsequent to justification but such theological fine points (in contrast to pastoral and devotional practice) are not prominent in the thoughts of the average Christian through the ages. Robert Jenson in his contribution to the volume The Role of the Augsburg Confession (ed. J. Burgess, Phila., 1980) well describes the patristic view. There is of course nothing wrong with the exhortation to love, even to love because we would be faithful. But if its slogan, fides caritate formata, is made the formula for what justifies, then in its churchly function it becomes a slogan for precisely what the Reformers attacked : a proclamation of Christ that itself turns into new exhortation and directs people back to their own fulfillment of in themselves necessary moral and religious standards, to find therein the ground of their confidence in God (p. 159).... The anti-pelagian codicil is of no help. If I understand my final relation to God as the outcome of a process which can at certain points stop if my contribution fails, and precisely if I am assured of God s grace, that is, that his contribution can be relied upon, my contribution or its failure makes the whole difference in my life (p. 161). Does the message of God s merciful love and forgiveness of our sins have to be restricted to first justification so that baptism is viewed as effectual only retrospectively103? What does salvation by grace through faith continue to mean for the justified Christian? Perhaps we must concentrate less on the fine points of first justification and more on the question : What does the doctrine of justification mean in the daily life of the Christian from the moment of first justification on? Robert B. E n o, S.S. The Catholic University of America 401 Michigan Av. N.E. Washington, D.C USA 103. On Baptism as a retrospective forgiveness of sins : J. Baur, op. cit. p. 18 ; A. Schindler, art. cit. p. 184 ;T. Torrance, The Doctrine o f Grace in the Apostolic Fathers (Grand. Rapids, 1959) pp ; M. W iles, «One Baptism for the Forgiveness of Sins» (Orig. ChQRev 1964). Reprinted in : Working Papers in Doctrine (London, 1976) pp. 81, 86, 88.